NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 05-FEB-2026 08:00 AM Dkt. 41 SO
NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI I
LONNELL REGINALD WIDEMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HAWAII PAROLING AUTHORITY; NEXSTAR MEDIA, INC., misidentified as KHON 2, Defendants-Appellees
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (CIVIL NO. 1CCV-XX-XXXXXXX)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Leonard and McCullen, JJ.) Self-represented Plaintiff-Appellant Lonnell Reginald
Wideman (Wideman) appeals from the December 26, 2025 Final
Judgment (Judgment) entered by the Circuit Court of the First
Circuit (Circuit Court).1 Wideman also challenges the Circuit
Court's January 10, 2023 Order Granting Defendant Nexstar Media,
Inc., misidentified as KHON 2's [(Nexstar's)] Motion to Dismiss
Complaint, as Amended, or in the Alternative, for Summary
Judgment on Any and All Claims Asserted against KHON 2 [Dkt. 115]
filed July 8, 2022 (Order Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ) and the
1 The Honorable Shirley M. Kawamura entered the Judgment. NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
October 4, 2023 Order Denying Leave to Amend and Order of
Dismissal (Order Denying Leave to Amend).2
Liberally construing Wideman's opening brief, Wideman
contends that the Circuit Court: (1) erred in entering the Order
Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ; and (2) erred and abused its
discretion in entering the Order Denying Leave to Amend.
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised, we resolve this
appeal as follows:
Wideman argues that the Circuit Court erred in granting
Nexstar's July 8, 2022 Motion to Dismiss Complaint, as Amended,
or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment on Any and All Claims
Asserted against KHON 2 (July 8, 2022 MSJ) because: (a) Nexstar
was not properly named in the complaint, (b) Nexstar failed to
submit its proposed order within ten days of the Circuit Court
announcing its decision, (c) the Circuit Court erred in
determining that Nexstar did not defame him, (d) the Circuit
Court misapplied the doctrine of res judicata, and (e) the
Circuit Court erred in its determination that Wideman's claims
were time barred.
Wideman further argues that the Circuit Court abused
its discretion when it denied him leave to amend the complaint
because he was diligently attempting to serve Defendants and to
amend his claims and there was no prior notice given of the
court's intent to dismiss.
2 The Honorable Jeffrey P. Crabtree entered the Order Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ and the Order Denying Leave to Amend.
2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
If a party misnamed in a complaint is served and
appears, the court has jurisdiction over the improperly named
party. Kajiya v. Dep't of Water Supply, 2 Haw. App. 221, 223,
629 P.2d 635, 638 (1981) (misnaming the Board of Water Supply as
the Department of Water Supply did not render the summons
insufficient) (citations omitted). Because Nexstar appeared when
it filed the July 8, 2022 MSJ, the Circuit Court had jurisdiction
over Nexstar and to decide the July 8, 2022 MSJ.
The fact that the order granting Nexstar's July 8, 2022
MSJ was entered more than ten days following the announcement of
the Circuit Court's ruling did not void the order. Rhoads v.
Okamura, 98 Hawai i 407, 410, 49 P.3d 373, 376 (2002)
(recognizing that Rules of the Circuit Courts of the State of
Hawaii Rule 23 is a procedural provision to expedite the court's
business, and failure to submit a judgment within ten days of an
order granting motion for summary judgment did not void the
judgment), overruled on other grounds by Alford v. City & Cnty.
of Honolulu, 109 Hawai i 14, 23, 122 P.3d 809, 818 (2005).
With the July 8, 2022 MSJ, Nexstar submitted scripts of
the broadcasts it ran in 2012 that mentioned Wideman. The
scripts say that Wideman's ex-wife has been missing since May 13,
2012, police were conducting an investigation into her
disappearance, Wideman is not a suspect in his ex-wife's
disappearance, and Wideman is cooperating with the investigation
but he was arrested on a parole violation.
Wideman did not submit any opposition to the July 8,
2022 MSJ. Wideman does not point to any fact that would
establish that any of the statements Nexstar made about him in
3 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
its 2012 broadcasts were untrue. Truth is a defense to
defamation. Wilson v. Freitas, 121 Hawai i 120, 128, 214 P.3d
1110, 1118 (App. 2009) (citing Gonsalves v. Nissan Motor Corp. in
Haw., Ltd., 100 Hawai i 149, 173, 58 P.3d 1196, 1220 (2002)). We
conclude that the Circuit Court did not err in determining that
there was no evidence of defamation.
Res judicata, or claim preclusion, prohibits a party
from relitigating a previously adjudicated cause of action.
Eastern Sav. Bank, FSB v. Esteban, 129 Hawai i 154, 158, 296 P.3d
1062, 1066 (2013) (citing Bremer v. Weeks, 104 Hawai i 43, 54, 85
P.3d 150, 161 (2004)). "[R]es judicata precludes not only the
relitigation of claims or defense that were litigated in a
previous lawsuit, but also of all claims and defenses that might
have been properly litigated, but were not litigated or decided."
Id. at 159, 296 P.3d at 1067 (citing Restatement (Second) of
Judgments, §§ 18 & 22 (A.L.I. 1982)).
In Wideman's complaint, as amended on July 18, 2022
(Amended Complaint), Wideman alleged that he was a Hawai i State
prisoner serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
The Amended Complaint further alleged that on May 18, 2012, while
on parole, Wideman was arrested for allegedly failing to notify
his parole officer regarding three separate contacts he had with
law enforcement between July 26, 2011, and May 18, 2012, and his
parole was revoked following a July 16, 2012 parole revocation
hearing. It further alleged that Nexstar wrongfully broadcasted
to the public his criminal history and an allegedly unlawful
parole revocation arrest.
4 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Wideman made these same allegations in an April 15,
2020 complaint (USDC Complaint) that he filed in the United
States District Court for the District of Hawaii (District
Court), which the District Court dismissed with prejudice on May
18, 2020.
The District Court had jurisdiction to decide the
claims in the April 15, 2020 Complaint, which alleged that
Wideman's 2012 arrest and parole revocation deprived him of his
rights under the United States and Hawai i Constitutions and that
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 05-FEB-2026 08:00 AM Dkt. 41 SO
NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI I
LONNELL REGINALD WIDEMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HAWAII PAROLING AUTHORITY; NEXSTAR MEDIA, INC., misidentified as KHON 2, Defendants-Appellees
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (CIVIL NO. 1CCV-XX-XXXXXXX)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Leonard and McCullen, JJ.) Self-represented Plaintiff-Appellant Lonnell Reginald
Wideman (Wideman) appeals from the December 26, 2025 Final
Judgment (Judgment) entered by the Circuit Court of the First
Circuit (Circuit Court).1 Wideman also challenges the Circuit
Court's January 10, 2023 Order Granting Defendant Nexstar Media,
Inc., misidentified as KHON 2's [(Nexstar's)] Motion to Dismiss
Complaint, as Amended, or in the Alternative, for Summary
Judgment on Any and All Claims Asserted against KHON 2 [Dkt. 115]
filed July 8, 2022 (Order Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ) and the
1 The Honorable Shirley M. Kawamura entered the Judgment. NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
October 4, 2023 Order Denying Leave to Amend and Order of
Dismissal (Order Denying Leave to Amend).2
Liberally construing Wideman's opening brief, Wideman
contends that the Circuit Court: (1) erred in entering the Order
Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ; and (2) erred and abused its
discretion in entering the Order Denying Leave to Amend.
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised, we resolve this
appeal as follows:
Wideman argues that the Circuit Court erred in granting
Nexstar's July 8, 2022 Motion to Dismiss Complaint, as Amended,
or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment on Any and All Claims
Asserted against KHON 2 (July 8, 2022 MSJ) because: (a) Nexstar
was not properly named in the complaint, (b) Nexstar failed to
submit its proposed order within ten days of the Circuit Court
announcing its decision, (c) the Circuit Court erred in
determining that Nexstar did not defame him, (d) the Circuit
Court misapplied the doctrine of res judicata, and (e) the
Circuit Court erred in its determination that Wideman's claims
were time barred.
Wideman further argues that the Circuit Court abused
its discretion when it denied him leave to amend the complaint
because he was diligently attempting to serve Defendants and to
amend his claims and there was no prior notice given of the
court's intent to dismiss.
2 The Honorable Jeffrey P. Crabtree entered the Order Granting July 8, 2022 MSJ and the Order Denying Leave to Amend.
2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
If a party misnamed in a complaint is served and
appears, the court has jurisdiction over the improperly named
party. Kajiya v. Dep't of Water Supply, 2 Haw. App. 221, 223,
629 P.2d 635, 638 (1981) (misnaming the Board of Water Supply as
the Department of Water Supply did not render the summons
insufficient) (citations omitted). Because Nexstar appeared when
it filed the July 8, 2022 MSJ, the Circuit Court had jurisdiction
over Nexstar and to decide the July 8, 2022 MSJ.
The fact that the order granting Nexstar's July 8, 2022
MSJ was entered more than ten days following the announcement of
the Circuit Court's ruling did not void the order. Rhoads v.
Okamura, 98 Hawai i 407, 410, 49 P.3d 373, 376 (2002)
(recognizing that Rules of the Circuit Courts of the State of
Hawaii Rule 23 is a procedural provision to expedite the court's
business, and failure to submit a judgment within ten days of an
order granting motion for summary judgment did not void the
judgment), overruled on other grounds by Alford v. City & Cnty.
of Honolulu, 109 Hawai i 14, 23, 122 P.3d 809, 818 (2005).
With the July 8, 2022 MSJ, Nexstar submitted scripts of
the broadcasts it ran in 2012 that mentioned Wideman. The
scripts say that Wideman's ex-wife has been missing since May 13,
2012, police were conducting an investigation into her
disappearance, Wideman is not a suspect in his ex-wife's
disappearance, and Wideman is cooperating with the investigation
but he was arrested on a parole violation.
Wideman did not submit any opposition to the July 8,
2022 MSJ. Wideman does not point to any fact that would
establish that any of the statements Nexstar made about him in
3 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
its 2012 broadcasts were untrue. Truth is a defense to
defamation. Wilson v. Freitas, 121 Hawai i 120, 128, 214 P.3d
1110, 1118 (App. 2009) (citing Gonsalves v. Nissan Motor Corp. in
Haw., Ltd., 100 Hawai i 149, 173, 58 P.3d 1196, 1220 (2002)). We
conclude that the Circuit Court did not err in determining that
there was no evidence of defamation.
Res judicata, or claim preclusion, prohibits a party
from relitigating a previously adjudicated cause of action.
Eastern Sav. Bank, FSB v. Esteban, 129 Hawai i 154, 158, 296 P.3d
1062, 1066 (2013) (citing Bremer v. Weeks, 104 Hawai i 43, 54, 85
P.3d 150, 161 (2004)). "[R]es judicata precludes not only the
relitigation of claims or defense that were litigated in a
previous lawsuit, but also of all claims and defenses that might
have been properly litigated, but were not litigated or decided."
Id. at 159, 296 P.3d at 1067 (citing Restatement (Second) of
Judgments, §§ 18 & 22 (A.L.I. 1982)).
In Wideman's complaint, as amended on July 18, 2022
(Amended Complaint), Wideman alleged that he was a Hawai i State
prisoner serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
The Amended Complaint further alleged that on May 18, 2012, while
on parole, Wideman was arrested for allegedly failing to notify
his parole officer regarding three separate contacts he had with
law enforcement between July 26, 2011, and May 18, 2012, and his
parole was revoked following a July 16, 2012 parole revocation
hearing. It further alleged that Nexstar wrongfully broadcasted
to the public his criminal history and an allegedly unlawful
parole revocation arrest.
4 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Wideman made these same allegations in an April 15,
2020 complaint (USDC Complaint) that he filed in the United
States District Court for the District of Hawaii (District
Court), which the District Court dismissed with prejudice on May
18, 2020.
The District Court had jurisdiction to decide the
claims in the April 15, 2020 Complaint, which alleged that
Wideman's 2012 arrest and parole revocation deprived him of his
rights under the United States and Hawai i Constitutions and that
media companies, including Nexstar, broadcasted allegedly
defamatory information about him. Federal law, 28 U.S.C. §§
1331, 1367(a), grants United States District Courts original
jurisdiction over all civil actions arising under the
Constitution and supplemental jurisdiction over related claims.
Even if the claims in the Amended Complaint differed somewhat
from those in the USDC Complaint, Wideman presents no discernible
argument why he would have been unable to litigate such claims in
the District Court. Therefore, we conclude that the Circuit
Court did not err in dismissing the Amended Complaint based on
res judicata.
Finally, there is no abuse of discretion when a court
denies leave to amend if amendment would be futile. Off. of
Hawaiian Affs. v. State, 110 Hawai i 338, 365, 133 P.3d 767, 794
(2006). In light of the above, further amendment would have been
futile. Therefore, we need not reach Wideman's remaining
assertions of error.
5 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Accordingly, the Circuit Court's December 26, 2025
Judgment is affirmed. Wideman's June 24, 2024 "Motion for an
Expedited Appeal or in the Alternative for a Resolution at the
Possible Earliest" is denied.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai i, February 5, 2026.
On the briefs: /s/ Karen T. Nakasone Chief Judge Lonnell Reginald Widemand, Plaintiff-Appellant, pro se. /s/ Katherine G. Leonard Associate Judge Bruce D. Voss, John D. Ferry III, /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen (Lung Rose Voss & Wagnild), Associate Judge for Defendant-Appellee Nexstar Media, Inc., misidentified as KHON 2.